


Valvintime's Day

by Galvanion



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Blushing Amity Blight, Blushing Luz Noceda, F/F, Holiday, Lumity, Post Young Blood Old Souls, Pranks, Romance, Treasure Hunting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 02:27:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29110803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Galvanion/pseuds/Galvanion
Summary: Valvintime’s Day: the one day of the year dedicated to family, love, and of course, treasure hunting! Amity has asked Luz to join her on the hunt for the Isle’s most elusive cache, and although it is sought after by witches and demons every year, nobody has ever had the pleasure of finding it. Will the two teens be able to find what they’re searching for, or will something else find them first?
Relationships: Amity Blight/Luz Noceda
Comments: 14
Kudos: 73





	1. The Adventure Begins

**Author's Note:**

> I know it's not quite Valentine's Day yet, but I had this idea for a story and thought it would make a fun little adventure. Hope you all enjoy the first chapter!
> 
> -G

"Ugh. It's every year with this creep. When's he gonna learn that I'm not interested?" Eda twirled a small white card between her fingertips as she leaned over her kitchen's island. She propped her chin in the palm of her other hand, and with a huff, smacked the card down on the table.

She stood up and leaned against the counter behind her, running her long golden claws through the massive fluffy mane atop her head. "I mean, I know being the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles makes me a head turner, and this body attunes to that too," she snorted, smacking her tight red dress atop her hip, "but no means no. I don't know how I could make that any clearer!" She threw her hands up in the air.

"Well, for starters, you could always hunt him down and threaten him within an inch of his life." Her sister Lilith calmly stated. She sat on the opposite side of the island facing her sister, her hands wrapped cozily around a mug of hot coffee blood.

Although she had only recently left, well, technically gotten kicked out of, the Emperor's Coven, Lilith had started to both mentally and physically return to her younger self. Her hair had more illustrious volume instead of its usual slick sheen, she had her large circular glasses perched ever so astutely on the bridge of her nose, and even her orange roots began to show through atop her head. Not to mention she was fully decked out in Bad Girl Coven garb, complete with oversized sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a surprisingly arch supportive set of slippers, easily her new favorite pair of footwear.

"I've already beaten him to the brink of unconsciousness before, but he just keeps coming back for more! If I didn't know any better, I'd say he's a masochist." She paused for a moment. "Actually, I don't know any better…"

"If anything, Wraith is more of a sadist. You should see how he gets information out of the prisoners in the Conformatorium. I wasn't able to sleep for weeks after seeing that." Lilith shivered at the throughs she so adamantly attempted pushing from her conscious, and took a big sip of her hot beverage.

"Well he actually cut my head off when King, Luz and I went to get King's crown back. So yeah, I can see that. Oh! And can you believe he actually asked me out after that? What, did he think I would go _oh, warden Wraith, with your strong physique and ability to turn your hands into axes, I can't bear to be without you! Please have me! Especially since you've proven yourself worthy of my love by chopping my head off from behind me_!" She held her hands together beside her cheek and looked up, fluttering her eyes dreamily, before pointing into her mouth and audibly gagging.

Lilith smiled and happily hummed a laugh at her sister's overzealous representation of a damsel in distress. "Oh!" She pointed to Eda. "You could always chop _his_ head off instead!"

Eda cracked a slick smile. "Which one?"

The two sisters stared at each other before bursting out laughing. Lilith with a much hardier laugh than before, and Eda cackling and snorting up a storm while giving the countertop one nice _smack_.

A gallop of footsteps from the stairs caught Eda's attention, and she glanced over to check it out, even though she already knew exactly who would make that distinct pattern.

Down popped Luz, jumping over the last stair and landing on the ground with a graceful thud. "Morning, Eda! Morning, Lilith." Even though Lilith had been staying with them for a few weeks at this point, Luz still wasn't exactly ready to trust her. Stealing her away, using her as a human shield to fight her sister, almost killing her on jagged stalagmites, and capturing Eda for the Emperor to petrify in front of the entire island. Yeah, cozy feelings don't just happen overnight.

"Morning, kid." Eda said with a smile, as Lilith simply nodded in response. "Why are you all dressed and ready to go somewhere? Usually you look like death until about ten on an off day."

"Well I could ask _you_ the same question!" She perkily smiled. "But if you must know, Amity asked me if I wanted to go on some kind of treasure hunt today. Something about valves, I don't know. But I _love_ treasure hunting. Not that I actually did it before, I just like the concept of it. But I'm sure I'll actually like doing it! Not to mention I get to hang out with my best friend! I'm so excited!"

Luz hopped merrily around the kitchen as she blabbered on about treasure, adventure and Amity. She grabbed a few breakfast items and took a hovering stance next to her mentor as she began to chow down.

"Hang on. You mean to tell me that nobody told you about Valvintime's Day yet?" Eda asked with one eyebrow raised.

Luz shook her head in response, bits of meat hanging out of her mouth.

"Well, let me be the first to tell you then." Eda gave Luz a pat on the back, eliciting a short coughing fit from the teen. "It was a long time ago, on a not so distant body part…" Eda drew a spell circle to give a visual aid as she spoke.

"Which body part?" Luz raspilly choked out.

"Nobody actually knows. _But_ , that's not important. What's important is that there were two young witches living on this body part. They were madly in love too. Like, gross for everyone who saw them in public, in love. One day they decided to go out on a small adventure; grab some fruits, water, maybe some animals for meat. You know, the normal olden day stuff. But while they were out, they stumbled onto something they could never have imagined."

"What was it?" Luz mumbled with her cheeks stuffed and puffed out.

"The Titan's heart." Eda softly spoke, with a mystical shimmer coming from her hands as she made a small, outward rainbow motion.

"Oooo!" Luz's eyes glimmered.

Lilith smiled as she took another sip of coffee blood, also oddly engrossed in her sister's tale.

Eda continued. "So naturally they had no idea what it was at first and decided it would be a great idea to get a closer look. They walked up to this massive, red, horribly putrid organ and basked in its gory glory. And when I say basked, I mean this thing was so freakin' massive you could fit Odalia's ego in it!"

Lilith snorted at the jab which caught her completely off guard, causing a small mist of coffee to expel from her mug. However, Luz just looked at her in confusion. "We can explain it later." The older sibling simply stated, having quickly regained her composure. She motioned back to Eda who resumed the story.

"Those two kids saw a partial opening in one of the heart valves and decided to explore a little more. Inside they found a couple huge cords connecting from the valve to an outstretched portion hanging from the wall. And up on top of that outstretched portion was a pink glowing light. Since they got this far, they figured why not check out what's going on up there too? I know I would." Eda proudly smiled, sticking a thumb out to herself before continuing.

"So they made their way up top and found a small glowing pink gem. One witch carefully grabbed it and pulled the gem out. As soon as it left contact with the heart, it made a bright, white hot flash of light, blinding the both of them. And right after _that_ , the entire place started to rumble, slowly collapsing on them. Turns out, the gem controlled time, and was the only thing keeping that organ stable. So, like any good thieves, they took off running, treasure in hand. But they never made it out. The damn heart collapsed on top of them both, killing them instantly."

"Woah…" Was all Luz could mutter out.

"Yep! So now legend has it that if you're able to find the heart and return the gem to its rightful location, you'll be rewarded with whatever you most desire. Then corporations like Hellmark bundled it up as some cute fairytale of lovers wanting to be together forever, and used it as an excuse to sell stupid cards like this one I got from Warden Wraith." She pointed to the countertop where the card laid face down on the table.

Luz quickly picked up the letter and read it over. "Really? Head over heels in love? He sees the irony in that, right?"

"Kid, I have no idea what's going through his mind except for that it's me. And I don't want to know _anything_ else." Eda let out a small shiver.

"Awe, well, who knows, maybe he's trying in his own way to become a better person. He did apologize for the head thing after all. Maybe you should give little Wraith a chance to blow you away!"

Lilith, who was in the middle of one of her sips, ended up doing a full spit take across the counter and all over her sister's red dress.

"Oh great." Eda muttered while grabbing a towel, trying to soak up some of the newfound moisture. "Now I have to change before I meet Tibbles. Thanks, Lily."

"Ew! You're meeting up with Tibbles on what seems to be a remarkably similar romantic holiday to what we have on Earth?" Luz was astonished after everything that little porker put them through.

"Oh I'll definitely be meeting up with him. Only thing is, he won't know I'm even there. I'm gonna rob that little cheat blind! Nobody messes with me and gets away with it that easily! I'll follow him around and torchure the living hell out of him until I feel like he's suffered enough."

"Well… Okay then! So long as it's nothing romantic!" Luz beamed.

"Gross. Not ever with that slimy little bastard. Well, I'm gonna go change. You have fun on your little date today. And don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Eda called out while making her way up the stairs.

"Well that basically means no restrictions." Luz smiled, already halfway to the door after placing her plate in the sink.

"Oh, and Luz-" Lilith spun around to face the young human. "Do be careful. I know we've had our shortcomings in the past, but I do want you to know I'm fully on your side now. And if you need anything that Edalyn can't help you with, I'd be happy to."

Luz stared at her for a moment, and for a second she thought she was being genuine. She was Eda's sister after all. Maybe she was trying to be better, and maybe it was time for Luz to budge. Only the tiniest amount, though. She weakly smiled back and nodded her head before turning back to the door and popping it open.

"Morning, Luz!" Hooty cried out. "I see you're all rearing to go on this fine crisp morning! Yes ma'am, it sure is a beautiful day to be here and talking to you! Nothing would make me happier!"

"Hey, Hooty?" Luz asked.

"Yessss?" He replied, drawing out the word while rotating his head.

"Lilith was just saying how she wanted to talk to you too." She smiled with a devious twinkle in her eye.

"What?" Lilith grimly remarked, her eyes drawn to the bird tube.

"Oh boy! I can't believe that _two_ people wanted to talk today! Oh this really is turning out to be an even greater day! So what did you want to talk about? I'm all ears! Well I'm mostly a neck, but-"

Hooty's voice slowly disappeared as he went inside to Lilith, and Luz made her way through the forest. She may have wanted to give Lilith a small break, but that didn't mean she wanted her to get the wrong idea either. She smiled proudly, heading off to meet the lovely green haired witch at the library where she was likely already planning a method to search for the gem.

* * *

_Okay, Amity. This is fine. All you're doing is going Valvintime's Day hunting with Luz. Just out in the forest, the two of you, nobody around…_ Her face heated up to the point where she thought she was going to pass out. She wiped her hands over her face, pulling her whole head down with a loud groan. _How do other witches handle this kind of stress?_

She took a deep breath in, attempting a futile effort to lower her heart rate and blood pressure. Blowing it out, she began scratching her arm. Yeah, she wasn't nervous in the slightest.

Nope. Not at all.

She had to do _something_ to occupy her mind, otherwise she would flatline in all of a minute. She turned to her desk where the third Azura book was closed and marked with her favorite teal and brown mixed bookmark. It seemed like a good enough option as any. She was currently rereading the series, and picking it up for a bit before Luz got here would definitely keep her mind off, well… Luz. She sighed and sat down, cracking the book open to the chapter she had stopped at.

The young witch cleared her throat as she began to read aloud to herself.

"The path to Abdore was a long and treacherous one, filled with thieves, marauders, and evil creatures alike. It stretched hundreds of miles and covered countless biomes, each more daunting and less forgiving than the last. And at the end of it all was where Acura's arch foe, Hecate, would be held up, waiting for her arrival."

Amity cleared her throat and changed her voice to a powerful, yet elegant, commanding tone. " _Hecate!_ Azura cried into the air, her scepter raised, pointing towards Abdore. _I am coming for you! And when I find you, we will settle the score! Once. And. For. All!_ "

Having so easily slipped into character, Amity hadn't noticed the secret door to her hideout opened, allowing Luz to discreetly make her way inside. Luz had heard Amity having fun reading aloud and didn't want to disturb her by any means.

 _Oh my gosh, this is so adorable! And she's doing such a good Azura impression!_ Luz thought to herself with an ear to ear grin plastered over her face.

"Azura swung her staff in front of her, leaving behind a trail of sparkling blue dust. As the particles floated to the ground, a majestic white unicorn materialized. It's shining coat glistened in the sunlight like a newly waxed bald head, it's slightly darker white mane danced fluidly in the breeze, and the magnificent horn attached to the forefront of its head sparkled like a god had contained a whole galaxy within it."

"Aweee!" Luz pined from her spot in the back of Amity's hideout.

Amity whipped her head around fast enough to break her neck, and give herself windburn at the same time. Yeah- that's windburn. The look of horror was written all over her face, but that didn't stop Luz from talking.

"Amity the way you read that was so amazing! Like, I could actually see you voicing Azura! And the way you narrated," sle kissed her pinched together fingertips, and opened them outward, "perfecta."

"I- uh, I just- well…" The young Blight's mind had short circuited, and for the life of her, she could not come up with anything to say.

Luz giggled in response. "Sorry. I didn't mean to end up spying on you. Honest. But you started doing the Azura voice and I just couldn't help myself! I hope you're not too embarrassed because I really think you did an awesome job! You know, after we do some treasure hunting we should definitely read these together. I think I could do a pretty good Azura myself. And I want to hear your Hecate too!"

"Oh, right. The hunt today." Amity muttered to herself. "Yeah," she spoke a little louder, "that sounds like a great idea." A warm smile crept onto her face. She could definitely see herself being the Amate to her Luzura. Especially since she knows what happens in book five...

Her face flushed crimson red at the thought.

"Amity, are you okay? Your face is getting all red. Did you want to go outside where it's a little cooler?"

"Huh? Oh! Uh, yeah, sure! Let's go outside where it's hotter! I- I mean cooler!" Amity bit her lip hoping not to be too obvious.

Luz raised an eyebrow but didn't push any farther. She just rolled with her friend's strange behaviors. "Great! I want to find some of this treasure that the other witches couldn't find for ages! We're gonna get it!" She pumped her fists into the air in a joyous display of eagerness.

"Well, it probably won't be that easy. Legend has it that only truly worthy witches are granted the ability to find it. And that even if they do, they're spell bound to secrecy by the gem itself. But again that's only legend, since nobody has ever claimed to have found the stone in the first place." Amity had shut her Azura book and grabbed the bag she had packed in preparation for the day. In one swift motion she had flung it over her shoulder and was standing next to Luz.

"Well if we find it together, at least we could talk to each other about it, right?"

Amity shrugged her shoulders. "I don't see why not."

"Great! Cause if I could only share it with one person, I'd want it to be you." She smiled and grabbed Amity by the hand, who, with tight puckered lips, fixated her eyes on the contact. "Now let's go find us some treasure!" Luz shouted, dragging Amity out the doorway and clear across the library to begin their adventure.

* * *

"I can't believe that wretched Owl Lady caught me off guard once again! That's the last time I entrust such a delicate task to a buffoon who gets the colors red and green mixed up!" Tibbles, the intelligent yet underwhelming salesman, grumbled angrily to himself.

The small swine was setting up another stand in the market, getting ready to sell some of the goods he produces. Well, produces, steals, it's all the same to the ill informed consumer. Not that most of them would really mind one way or the other anyway.

He ran to his caravan from the medium sized red tent which was set up off the side of the pathway. He jumped up and reached into the back of the cart, pivoting on his belly as his small hooves waived in the air. "Aha!" He exclaimed, pulling out a small and hollow blue cylinder. "I knew I packed you up." He trotted back into his stand and began hammering away from within.

As the noises began, a slender dark shadow appeared from aside the cart Tibbles was just pulling his item from. A wide grin appeared, pristine white teeth gleaming in the morning sun, save one golden canine. "Oh Tibbles, you say not to entrust the delicates to buffoons, yet here you are, entrusting them to yourself." Eda snorted and bounded towards the first of the three carts in the caravan.

She rummaged through the back of the cart, throwing out various potions, food, and other items. "Where could they be?" She muttered to herself. "It's not like him to keep it very far out of reach, and I didn't see him take anything in since he got here. Maybe he shrunk them?" She tapped her finger to her chin. "Nah. Then they could get lost easier. So where…"

And as though a switch had been flipped within her mind, Eda wore that deviously evil smile once more. She jumped up to the front driver's seat where she presumed Tibbles would sit while moving. She knocked on the seat top and heard loud reverberations from within. She ran her fingers underneath the lip in front of the seat until she came into contact with a latch. With one flip of the latch she was able to pop open the seat.

Lo and behold, underneath that small seat was a compartment filled with sacs of snails. She picked out a piece from one of the bags and bit into it. Nothing. "Hello, beautiful." She happily spoke, stroking the coin with her thumb.

Hold on. There was no more noise.

She quickly ducked down as Tibbles appeared from the tent. "Almost forgot my lucky screwdriver. Come on Tibbles, you must think!" He berated himself. He was clearly too concerned with his own incompetence to notice that half of his items were thrown out of the cart.

"And he wonders why I always beat him like it's some sort of unfair fight." Eda whispered to herself. "Well, me against him… I guess it _is_ an unfair fight."

She stood up and started stuffing the small bags into a larger sac she had brought with her. After the loot was all loaded up she heaved the fully loaded, and incredibly heavy, bag onto her shoulder. In just a few short moments she was out of sight and had dropped her loot for a moment. She pulled out a wire, two wooden steaks, and a razzdazzleberry pie out of her hair.

She stuck the steaks into the ground on opposite sides of the tent entrance using the ball of her boot. She wrapped the wire tightly around them and placed the pie about Tibbles' height away from the string, laying nice and open on the ground. She quickly made her way back to the loot and peered around the corner.

Sure enough, Tibbles walked out from his tent and had not noticed the wire or pie in his path. He tripped over the wire and fell face first into the pie which exploded like a glitter bomb, on top of staining his small suit. A low growl began bubbling up from him, getting louder and louder with each passing second before he burst.

"Edalyn!" He screamed out to the heavens as though his life depended upon it.

Meanwhile, Eda had forced herself behind the wall, beginning to weaken from the side stitches she was developing in response to all her muffled laughter. She grabbed the bag and flung it over her shoulder once more, this time with considerably more difficulty than the last from all the laughing. Between spurts of laughter she started her way home to inspect the entirety of her loot.

* * *

Luz and Amity stood side by side facing the horizon atop one of the many cliffs in Bonesborough. The view was gorgeous; the sky mixed with shades of orange and dark blue which meshed seamlessly with the matte yellow of the clouds all surrounding their view of the long fallen Titan which they called home.

"Okay," Amity said, pulling out a map of the Titan from her backpack, "I was doing some research and I came up with the area that most likely has some kind of connection to the gem." She pointed to a spot near the pelvis. "Here's where we're located. Now, when I was looking this stuff up I kept finding testaments of witches and demons claiming to have found the treasure at all different locations. Like seriously, they were _all over_ the place. Some said they found it near the neck, others the legs, arms; you get the picture. But there was one place that never had a single claim laid to finding something. Right here." She pointed to a spot just off center of the Titan's chest.

"You mean where the heart is supposed to be?" Luz asked.

"Exactly! Don't you think it's weird not to have anyone say _anything_ about one place? Especially when every other body part was noted."

Luz moved in a little closer towards Amity, brushing up against her shoulder as she leaned in to get a better view of the map. Amity's eyes quickly darted over to the girl's shoulder which was now resting comfortably on her upper arm. She couldn't bring herself to move a muscle.

"Yeah, you have a point. It's like it's being intentionally covered up for some reason. But that wouldn't make sense either because if someone _was_ trying to cover this up, wouldn't they want to make it seem like someone already checked there and came up with nothing?" Luz's question hung in the air for a few moments before she realized she was not getting a reply from her treasure hunting partner. She stood back up and looked to the young witch. "Amity?"

She blinked at Luz's shoulder in response before quickly making eye contact with her. "Huh? Oh! Yes! Yeah, that wouldn't make much sense for them to do that then. Cover it up like that. Cause it's so weirdly obvious…" Amity's eyes darted from Luz to the map, back to Luz and finally to some point down in the forest.

"Am, are you alright?"

 _Did she just call me Am? Like a pet name?! I love it! She's so cute and amazing..._ Amity's face began to glow bright red at the new nickname.

"Oh my gosh you're burning up! Here, I packed a bunch of water for us to drink today, but I guess you could really use some now!" Luz reached into her backpack and pulled out a bottle of cool water. She opened the screw top and handed it to Amity who grabbed it with gusto.

She chugged the bottle of water all while trying to suppress the bubbling burning sensation which was radiating throughout her whole chest. This girl was going to be the literal death of her. And by some miraculous intervention, she managed to evade two heart attacks in the same day. At the end of the bottle she was out of breath, hunched over, and desperately trying to balance the deficit of oxygen in her system.

Luz placed her hand gently on Amity's back, rubbing in small circles in an attempt to calm her distressed friend. "I think I do, but I sure hope I packed enough water for us today. If I would've known you'd need some this early I definitely would have brought extra! I only thought we would need some while we were hiking and getting all sweaty."

_Titan have mercy._

After Amity's mental recovery, the two set out on their journey into the deep forest, forging ahead to the place in the chest where Amity believed they would find what so many residents of the Isles were out looking for.

Amity was dressed well for their adventure. She had black hiking boots, violet leggings, and a form fitting top made out of a material similar to a human wicking shirt. Her look was completed by a small but stylish pair of abomination colored sunglasses, with a mixed black and purple frame and a yellow dot on each top corner next to the lenses.

Luz on the other hand still decided on wearing her favorite hoodie, but no longer had her leggings and replaced her jean shorts with a more breathable pair of dark blue pocketless hiking shorts. Why girl's shorts never had pockets, she'd never understand. She also dawned a pair of brown hiking boots and had just pulled out a rainbow colored bandana which she tied around her forehead.

"And this- _neugh,_ is what humans- _neugh,_ call a- _neugh,_ machete. It's basically like a big kitchen knife for cutting vines and plants and sometimes even other people, depending on your moral values." Luz was giving Amity a run down on some of the Earth items she had with her before her way home was obliterated. And while she found it fun to teach witches about human items, especially the witches she was closest to, it now left bittersweet remnants. And currently there was no way for her to return home; although Eda was hard at work trying to track down another portal, she had to be mentally grounded and assume the worst: she may never return home.

Those thoughts may as well have been a light up sign saying _SAD_ above her due to her rapid change in body language. From her swings becoming lackluster and weak to her shoes dragging on the ground and kicking up dirt along their path.

Amity looked at her from behind with a frown. It wasn't something which she usually saw, or really ever for that matter; Luz looking down in the dumps. She usually overflowed with positivity and optimism, so much so that sometimes it felt like an ocean the young witch was drowning in. However, in the span of just a few short moments that took a stifling 180 degree turn.

"Hey, Luz," Amity began, reaching a hand out and grabbing hold of her shoulder, "is everything okay? You seem a little more… down, than usual."

Luz slowed to a stop but didn't turn around to face her concerned friend. "It's… It's just- I don't really know how to explain it, Am…"

Amity was smart; she wasn't number one in the class for nothing. Which is why she did not want to pry too much into Luz's life in case she wasn't feeling ready to talk about it, since she was clearly very upset. However, in the end she settled on a more mild approach, considering she was already told of what happened before and after Eda's attempted petrification. "You know, I could never imagine what you must be feeling right now. But- if you ever need someone to talk to about, well, _anything_ , I'll always be here to lend you an ear."

Luz's head pivoted just enough for Amity to see the ends of her lips tug upwards the slightest bit. It was something.

"Thank you. It means- more than you know."

Amity smiled and let her hand fall from its perch on the young Latina's shoulder. But before it could swing all the way down, Luz grabbed it with her own hand and gave it a short, strong squeeze. After that she seemed to have rekindled her fire within. Not as bright, but at least now she was swinging that large knife well enough to cut down the vegetation in their way.

"Now let's go get this treasure." Luz smiled stonger as another vine was sliced effortlessly in half.

Their journey through the jungle was long and arduous. Large cobra like creatures attempted to constrict and crush them, mud pits and quick sand almost had swallowed them whole, and a group of fairies had to be fended off before they could consume their flesh. But a tag team between Hexside's top student and most determined pupil proved to be worthy in fighting off each threat which had dared stand in their way.

After what felt like days, but in reality was about nine hours, they reached the final summit, beginning the last leg of the trek to where Amity had deduced the most likely location of the treasure they sought.

"Okay, Luz. From here all we need to do is climb down this-" Amity looked down over her map to the large slope in front of them, "fairly steep slope, and we should basically be right there!" She closed up her map and stuffed it back in her bag with a satisfying crinkle. The young witch adjusted her backpack's shoulder straps, tightening them as she did a small bounce on the balls of her feet.

"Great! I have to say, if this were like, a year ago, I think I would've died like ten minutes into this." Luz giggled. "I was so weak. But my time on the isles here definitely pumped me up!" She had a huge grin on her face while she smacked her flexed bicep.

"Yeah… Pumped up…" Amity whispered, her eyes fixated on the top of Luz's arm. All she was able to hear were echoing slaps as the sounds around her quickly faded into a dull white noise. Her labored breathing hitched when she realized Luz was snapping her fingers in front of her face.

"Hey Amity? You okay?" She asked.

"Huh?" Amity managed to spit out. She tried frivolously to blink away her confusion, having a difficult time doing so. She quickly rubbed her eyes and was able to snap out of her trance. "Yep! Totally fine! Couldn't be finer!"

Luz raised an eyebrow. "Well… I'm glad we're here because I think you might be developing heat exhaustion..." She handed another bottle of water to Amity, who absentmindedly grabbed it and started taking a few sips.

 _Pull it together, Blight. You're better than this!_ Amity mentally kicked herself for excessively fawning over her adorable best friend. She capped her bottle and placed it in the outside holster of her bag. _Just have to focus on the prize. We're almost there anyway._

"I think I see something!" Luz exclaimed, pointing in the direction they had been trekking. Beyond her finger was a dark red blob, intertwined with other shades of the same color. It was just beyond a clearing they could see ahead of them.

Luz grabbed Amity by her hand and began running in that direction. As she tripped and stumbled to catch up, Amity was only slightly dividing her attention to the firm, clammy hand intertwined with her own.

How was this the exact opposite of gross?

"Oh my gosh I can't believe we're almost there! This is going to be _sooo_ amazing!" Luz could barely contain her excitement as they closed in on the clearing. She did, however, slow down to a brisk stride, trying to accommodate Amity's heat exhaustion.

"Just don't get your hopes up _too_ high. I want to see this as much as the next witch, but having so many others try and fail in finding this, I wouldn't be surprised if we didn't either. I just don't want you to be disappointed." Amity said, the last part being much softer than the rest of her words.

"Hey," Luz stopped and faced her, "no matter what we find, or don't find, there's _no way_ I could ever be disappointed when we're together. We could find diddly squat and I would still chalk this day up as being one of the most amazing days I've ever had in my life!" Luz smiled at her.

That damn smile was one of the most heart warming, infectious, beautiful things she had ever had the pleasure of experiencing. Not a day has gone by where that toothy grin hasn't crossed her mind for at least a fleeting second. And whenever it did, the butterflies in her stomach whirled around like a tornado, distracting her from whatever tasks she had to complete. One of these days she was going to control that sensation; however, today was certainly not that day.

Amity smiled warmly back to the girl in front of her. "I feel the same way." She paused for a moment and fiddled with her hair, twirling her short locks around her index finger and releasing them. "You know, if you're interested, maybe after we get back, would you like to go, and, maybe get something-"

She was abruptly cut off by the ear shattering screech of a large feathery bat which was hanging upside down from a large tree branch above them. The girls forcefully covered their ears and bent over, desperately trying to muffle that horrid, piercing noise. The creature stopped for a moment and they knew they had to take their chance at escape before having to endure another round of that hell.

"Come on!" Amity called out, grabbing Luz by the hand and forcing her away from the terrifying creature.

Luz looked down to their clasped hands; if her eardrums weren't in serious danger of rupturing, this would be _heaven_.

 _But why would it be?_ Luz asked herself. Another ground shaking screech from the creature threw the two off balance and stumbling forward over their own feet. _No time for that now!_ She mentally reprimanded herself for thinking about that kind of thing while Amity was still in danger.

The two dodged and weaved through the trees before eventually breaking the treeline. Luckily for them that horrid animal did not seem to follow them, and had only made those two terrifying shreeks. Both teens were hunched over in an attempt to catch their breath. Amity was the first to stand up and look to where they had to go next, and she was completely taken aback.

Sitting in front of her was an untitanly, oversized heart. It towered over the witch unlike anything she had ever seen before. Not only did it have the height on her, but it also seemed to go on for miles in each direction. How in the world did they not see this massive structure before?

"How in the world did we not see this thing before?" Luz asked out loud.

They really are like two peas in a pod.

"It must be concealed by some kind of spell which only allows you visual assessment when below a certain height or within so much distance." Amity answered.

"Woah." Luz awed, looking it over. Before long she started walking around the one side, admiring what an amazing feat she was able to see with her own two eyes. Eventually she came across something different than just the outside of what they were looking at. "Hey, Amity! Come here!"

With a quick trot she was over and looking at the same thing Luz was. It seemed to be a large circular structure evenly divided into three subsections. These subsections looked like flaps which curved out towards them; two of them also had a hole in the outer portion of the circle.

"What do you think it is?" Luz asked.

Amity looked at it critically for a few moments. "Well, if I had to take a guess, it almost looks like a heart. At least that section there looks like a witch's heart valve." She pointed at the circular structure.

Luz cocked her head at it as well. She rubbed her chin and hummed, deep in thought. After a few moments she put in her two cents. "I think I remember something similar from my bio class in school! Humans have a four chamber heart!" She proudly proclaimed.

Amity looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "But do they have a valve like that?" She asked.

Luz pursed her lips together and silently opened her mouth before closing it once more. "I have no idea." She reluctantly answered.

Amity stifled a giggle by covering her mouth which caused Luz to look over at her, confusion written all over her face before it was washed away by a smug smile.

"And what're _you_ laughing at, _top student_? Some of us aren't as academically adept as you are!" She tried to mask her voice in a fake irritated tone, but ultimately failed to convince even herself.

A short low snort managed to escape the giggling witch's mouth, quickly leading to an all out laughing fit. She managed to pull herself together before going on for too terribly long and looked back at Luz, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "You can _not_ do a very good angry voice!" Amity said with a smile.

 _A perfect, heart melting smile_. Luz thought with a twinge in her heart. "Well I'm not really an angry person!" She answered back with a smile on her face just as wide as Amity's.

She could only laugh in response. "Okay, dork. Let's go inside and figure out if there's even anything here."

"Yeah, okay…" Luz reluctantly answered. As much as she wanted to know if the item they sought even actually existed, in that moment there was something else she desired even more. Something which seemed to be within reach, if she could only push past one last mental wall holding her back. Maybe more of a heart wall… She moved her arm the slightest bit, but stopped herself. What if Amity didn't feel the same way back? What if in wanting to take this leap of faith and throwing herself completely out there she would end up losing the one thing in this world that she cared about most? What if she lost her forever?

She couldn't do it.

At least, she couldn't do it until she knew for certain that there was at least some miniscule amount of her feelings being reciprocated. After all, she would rather be friends with the beautiful witch beside her than to never be able to talk to each other again.

The sound of leaves crunching under Amity's boots pulled Luz out of her mental debate.

"You coming?" The green haired witch asked, moving towards the towering heart.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, definitely!" Luz answered almost a little too enthusiastically. She jogged to catch up to Amity as they both approached the towering object.

Even from the short distance back that they were, this thing seemed to loom over them even more scarily from its base. The valve was pretty high above them, so Luz pulled out one of her many plant glyph papers. She placed it on the ground and gave it a tap. The paper buzzed to life with a lime green hue as a platform of vines manifested itself underneath the feet of both witches, rising them up to their desired location.

When they were eye level with their target, Amity reached out and tried to pry open the entrance with both her hands. "Oh Titan, it's so... _dry_. Like, gross dry." She shuddered, failing to open the seam.

"Here, let me help." Luz said, coming over to her and grasping the one side with both her hands as Amity did the same on the opposite side. "Oh man, it is _weirdly_ dry!" She huffed out while trying to pull it open with Amity's help.

As the two struggled, a bright pink light burst through the seams, blinding the duo for a moment. They rubbed their pained eyes attempting to get the pain to subside. However, before they could finish, a loud, ground rumbling noise came from right next to them, knocking them down to where Amity ended up falling over Luz.

The valve was slowly opening, and in doing so, narrowly missed catching Amity and pushing her right off Luz's vine. After what felt like an eternity the rumbling came to a halt. The two looked up and in front of them was a gaping hole with each of the three leaflets protruding away from the center.

"Well, I guess the both of us were strong enough to get it started…" Luz mumbled, still taken aback by what had happened to them.

"Come on, let's check it out." Amity said, grabbing Luz by the hand and pulling her behind.

 _I can't believe I just went and grabbed her hand! Oh Titan. Don't look back!_ Even though she was clam and confident on the outside, Amity was having a nervous breakdown. She was never romantically bold around Luz, out of fear she might change the dynamic of their relationship for the worse. But for whatever reason, she had a surge of confidence and just went for it. And to top it all off, Luz seemed to just go with it! She wasn't trying in the slightest to get away from her! That was a good thing, right?

Meanwhile, the young Latina was having her own mental breakdown. Amity had just grabbed her hand and started pulling her. While that was normal for herself, there was no way Amity would do such a thing to _anyone_. It just wasn't the kind of witch that she was. But right here, right now, she wasn't acting the same. And it seemed to be for the better...

Both teens crept through the large opening, watching out for any hidden traps which may be armed to ward off unwanted intruders. The further they got, the darker the room became. Luz casted one of her light spells, and as the orb floated just a small distance above them, they were able to see the room for what it was worth.

First off, the ground wasn't solid. It was ridged and had the texture of a wicker basket with parallel lines intertwining as they ran the length of the floor. But aside from that, it felt pretty similar to the normal ground. Second, it had a wretched, heavy odor. It was like someone mixed blood and alcohol, then let it sit alongside a rotting egg for weeks. And lastly there were also long, thick cords, dividing into smaller cords which extended from the ground to the leaflet openings behind them.

"This place is so cool!" Luz exclaimed. She took a whiff of the air around them. "And a little gross too." She commented in a nasally voice due to her pinched her nostrils.

"Yeah, I wonder what this place even is…" Amity said mindlessly.

"Didn't you say it looked like a heart?" Luz asked, her nose still covered.

"Well, yeah. I did. But the only heart which would be this big would be the Titan's, and it's been dead for as long as anyone can remember."

Luz tapped her chin. "But Belos said he could communicate with it. Wouldn't that mean that it could still be alive somehow? I mean, unless he just _lied_ to everyone." Luz spat out the last part with venom to spare.

Amity smiled and stifled a bitter chuckle. After all, his coven had been her goal ever since she developed her magical abilities. And having a liar on top of an executioner be the symbol of her desires would only further the shame she felt towards herself for such an unacceptable dream. "I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility that he lied to everyone. Because this _definitely_ looks like a heart."

Luz hummed in agreement. She was still scanning around the room searching for some kind of clue. After a minute she ended up setting off a few more light spells to illuminate everything a little better, but still to no avail. "Well, I think Eda mentioned something about a heart earlier too. But I was kind of preoccupied with breakfast and don't really remember it… So what do you think we're missing?" She asked.

"Well, we don't even know if there's anything actually here. It's still just a hunch I have." Amity said, running her hand across one of the walls.

"Yeah but you're like, one of the smartest people I know. I totally trust your hunch, one hundred percent!"

The corner of Amity's lip curled up and she tucked a stray green hair behind her ear. "Thanks…" She said softly.

As though it were the cue they were waiting on, a bright pink light illuminated the entire room with a violent display of its radiant, shimmering hue. The two teens were taken aback by the sudden eruption of light and had to shield their eyes from its hot intensity.

"What in the world is that?!" Luz exclaimed.

"That might just be what we came for!" Amity called back.

The flash of light lasted but for a few short seconds before it dulled down to a slow pulse. The girls uncovered their eyes, spots plaguing their vision as they tried to focus on the light source.

"Okay," Amity began, "we need to get up there and figure out what that thing is."

"Way ahead of you, Blight!" Luz slapped down a plant glyph, and in an instant they were both propelled upward, rocketing towards the pulsing pink light source. The vines stopped quickly at one of the thick, pale tubes suspended from the walls where both teens were thrown about a foot into the air. Luz fell face up onto the vines with a thud, with Amity dropping perpendicular onto Luz's stomach, flattening her out.

"Ugh!" Luz gutted out. Her arms laid spread out for just a moment before she got up onto one elbow to check on the girl atop her. "Amity, you okay?" She asked, moving her bangs.

The green haired witch pushed herself onto her forearm, supporting herself with her hand as well. She turned to Luz and stared at her with widened, golden eyes. There she was, laying on top of the girl she likes, with her hair being pushed to the side by said girl.

Wait, was she getting closer? Her gleaming chocolate eyes were getting larger, her cute little nose was becoming a little bigger, and those perfect, light pink tinted lips seemed to beckon _come here_.

"Amity?" Luz asked for the second time, not that Amity could hear the first.

"Huh?" She replied, pulling out of her daze. It only took a moment, but when Amity realized she was almost touching her nose to Luz's, she scrambled. Her limbs were moving fast enough to break the sound barrier as she jumped to her feet. Her heart was moving a mile a minute and it showed in her beet red face. She still had enough wits about her to reach a hand out to the lovely, and now very confused, girl on the floor.

"Uh…" Luz drug out while she slowly and absentmindedly extended her arm to grasp Amity's hand.

Amity pulled her up with pursed lips and warm cheeks. Her eyes darted around the room until they landed on the radiating pink hue just a few paces away from them.

"Uh…" Luz continued, now with her finger up, ready to clarify what was going on. But before she got the chance she was once again grasped by the hand and drug off by Amity.

"C'mon, we're almost there!" Amity blurted out as she drug her companion behind her. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! How could you get so distracted by her!_ She mentally kicked herself.

 _Easy_. She mentally argued against herself. _She's the most perfect person on the Boiling Isles._

Amity grunted. She couldn't argue with such sound logic.

The two approached the source of the light, still hand in hand. Luz had attempted to question what had just happened again, but was only met with silence since her companion was in an argument with herself. She would just have to try again a little later.

The shimmering light was blinding up close. Both teens had to shield their eyes from its intensity as they stood next to it.

"So… What now?" Amity asked. She knew full well that whatever they had been chasing was right in front of them, but what exactly could it do? There was a possibility that grabbing it could have serious, or even fatal, consequences, so doing that would certainly not be in their best interest. However, they had nothing to test this theory on, so should they even grab it at all, or should they just take a picture as proof they found it? Alternatively, it may be possible to hold this item in some sort of high density container, such that it would not be able to exert any malicious effects on its surroundings, like them.

"Dibs!" Luz called out. Within the millisecond it took Amity to process what exactly she had said, Luz already had her arm fully extended and her hand open. Amity tried to pull her away, but it was futile; Luz already had the gem in her hand.

Without warning, the small stone flashed in a brighter light than it was emitting before, blinding both Luz and Amity. It took them both by surprise, but they covered their eyes up fast, both using the crook of their arm as a safe haven. Luz continued to hold the object in her tight grasp, refusing to let the fruits of their labor go.

No more than a minute had passed and both girls hesitantly began to check if the light had died down. They were relieved to see that it had, but what they were met with was something neither could have have ever imagined.


	2. Pause!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the support on the previous chapter! I hope you enjoy this next one!
> 
> -G

The flash of light had left them in a white void, which seemed to go on for eternity. In every direction, including above and below, they were met with an unrelenting abyss of absence, save present company.

“Wha- what happened? Where are we? And why is there nothing  _ anywhere _ ?” Amity asked openly. It was one thing to have a master witch teleport themselves somewhere nearby, since it is a fairly difficult spell to master, but teleporting two others to some blank location? Not possible. “Okay, this must be some illusion. That thing in your hand must have conjured up some kind of visual blockade or something. Let me try breaking it. I have a lot of experience trying to nullify illusions considering how much Ed and Em try to mess with me.”

Amity took a deep breath in and out. She took a fighting stance with one foot planted firmly behind the other and her opposite arm extended straight out. With the flick of her wrist she drew a small spell circle. The spell expanded slightly before collapsing in on itself, absorbing into her wrist, and exploding out from her open palm in a violent display of purple and blue hues, to which the teens shielded themselves from any debris which may have come their way. 

Amity was hopeful that it would have done something but when she lowered her guard, nothing had changed. “No. No,  _ no _ !” She frustratingly cried out. Once again she took her stance, drew the spell circle, and had it explode in front of her, only to have the same result again. She gritted her teeth and tried once more, this time with a much larger circle and a burning, desperate passion in her heart. However, even though the resulting explosion was significantly larger than the last, the outcome was the same. She ran her hands through her hair and grabbed the roots, harshly tugging them out of pure frustration.

Luz’s eyes widened as she watched the events unfold. It was heartbreaking to see someone you care so deeply for push themselves to a mental breaking point. She had to do something; and there was only one thing that came to mind. She grabbed Amity, who was now down on her knees, by the hand and pulled her to her feet. Luz turned her slumping friend towards her and pulled her into one of the tightest hugs she had ever given. 

Luz was always one to show outward affection, regardless of whether it was physical or verbal in nature, but there was something different about this one. This hug didn’t have the same feeling behind it that her others did. This was more powerful, deeper, and made her own stomach twist and turn into knots. Hopefully it didn’t make Amity feel sick like this, even though it wasn’t an illness type of sickness; more of a good sick, if there was even something of the sorts. She really didn’t know.

Her answer came to her in the form of a pair of arms wrapping themselves around her back, reciprocating the embrace she was giving. It started out weak but gradually grew tighter to the point where Luz wasn’t sure if she would actually be able to get out of it. Not that she was going to complain, or even try to for that matter.

“Thank you…” Amity whispered into her ear, sending chills down Luz’s spine. 

Luz shivered, but had to smile in response. It was a feeling like no other to her. Some deep happiness that she had never experienced before in her life, even from her own mother. This was something all new, and luckily she had the perfect witch there to enjoy it with. “Por supuesto, mi amor.”

Amity loosened her grip and cocked her head just enough to see Luz’s face. “What does that mean?” She asked with a smile.

“ _ Uh _ \- It means of course, my friend!” She spat out haphazardly. There was a growing pink hue spreading across her cheeks and a speeding, palpable heartbeat in her chest.  _ Aye Dios mio. Esta chica ser _ _ á mi muerte. _

“Oh. Well, I’m glad I can count on you, Luz.” Amity dropped her hands and moved a few stray hairs from her face. “Now, we need to figure out a way out-“

Amity was cut off by a flash of the same pink color they have been seeing ever since arriving at the heart. At the source of the flash was a small circular case. It was coated in shiny gold plating and suspended from a thin gold chain. 

“Hey.” Luz pointed at the object. “That looks like an old pocket watch!”

“A what?” Amity asked. 

“A pocket watch! It’s what old time humans used to use on a daily basis to tell time. They kept the watch part in their pocket and the chain on their belt, and when they wanted to know the time they’d pull it out and  _ bam!  _ There’s the time. Totally replaced by cell phones now, but still pretty cool.” 

“Huh. So, you think that gem is inside that watch? I mean, it  _ did _ have the same color shining from it after all.” Amity pointed to the watch. 

“Who knows? We did just get teleported to a blank dimension, after all. Anything is possible!”

Her optimism always seemed like the one thing Amity could always count on. Even in times of complete uncertainty, Luz would always have a bright future in her sights, and possibly even more impressive, she would have the determination and skill to make that future a reality. 

Amity nodded in response. “Well then, let’s take a look for ourselves.”

The two teens made their way up to the object, and sure enough, it looked exactly like an old time pocket watch. Complete with an analog clock engraved on the faceplate and a heart made of vines and flowers engraved on the back. 

“Still not sure if we should touch it…” Amity said hesitantly. She thought they were lucky to still be alive from touching the gem before.

“Well, how about this? We make sure we’re holding hands, and both grab the thing together. That way, if something were to happen to us, it would happen to both of us!” Luz beamed with confidence at her impromptu plan. 

“Like, if it disintegrated us?” Amity cocked an eyebrow and just the slightest smile. 

Both girls bursted out laughing at the funny, yet highly probable, outcome. Not that they really wanted to be turned to ash, but misery does love company. 

“Okay, ready?” Luz asked. 

Amity nodded in response. 

“One.” Luz grabbed Amity’s hand. “Two.” Both teens began reaching towards the watch. “Three!” They clasped their hands around it at the same time, and just as they expected, something else began to happen. Yet another surge of pink light lit up the space between them, but this time, they had predicted it. 

As soon as everything disappeared, Luz noticed there were actual surroundings surrounding them. Buildings loomed over the two from behind, while small merchant stands were taking up the remainder. In fact, it looked eerily familiar to the market of Bonesborough. 

Actually, this was  _ exactly  _ what the market looked like. Luz turned around for a moment and in doing so came to an eerie realization: all the people around her were frozen in their tracks. Not frozen in the cold sense, but they weren’t moving a muscle. It was like someone hit the pause button on a movie, and she was still able to look around and move. But why?

“Hey Am-“ Luz was cut off by the sight of her companion frozen in place just like everyone else. “Amity?” She questioned. She walked up to her and poked her cheek. But there was no response. “What in the world is going on?”

Luz tried and tried to wake Amity from her trance. She pushed her, shook her, snapped her fingers in front of her face; Amity even fell over one time, but even that didn’t change anything. A large lump began sinking in the pit of Luz’s stomach. What if she was frozen like this forever? What if she could never find a way to unfreeze her, leaving herself stuck in this perpetual state of essential non-existence?

“Oh no, oh no, oh no... '' Luz paced in front of Amity, fidgeting with her fingers and mumbling, trying to figure out why this was happening. “Okay, so we were in that void together, but we could both move and talk. We grabbed each other’s hands and both grabbed that gem at the exact time. Now, I’m stuck in frozen time Bonesborough, and Amity and everyone else aren’t able to move at all. Great! I have  _ no idea _ what’s going on!”

Luz plopped herself on the ground, eventually sprawling out on her back to look up at the still sky. She covered her chest and intertwined her fingers, playing with them as she did her best to just take a breather and go through everything again.

_ Hold on. _ She thought.  _ Where’s the gem, slash watch thing? _ She patted herself down and managed to find it stuffed into her shorts pocket. She pulled it out and clicked it open. Inside was the structure of a clock, but instead of numbers there were many different symbols engraved on it. It vaguely reminded her of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. Many looked beyond her understanding, but the one where the number 12 would be looked like two people standing side by side, with their hands linked.

“Woah. So cool…” Luz muttered. While she was admiring the object in her possession, the cogs of her mind were still whirring, and eventually the metaphorical lightbulb illuminated. Her eyes widened and she jumped to her feet, eager to put her idea into practice. She went over to Amity and closed up the watch, keeping the chain securely wrapped around her wrist. Luz placed the watch into Amity’s palm, making sure to keep it securely there with her own. 

Within seconds Amity gasped for air. She hunched over and held herself upright by keeping her unoccupied hand on her knee. “What the?” She asked, trying to pull her hand which was currently being held by Luz. “Luz!” Her cheeks reddened after figuring out what was currently happening. She tried to jerk away again but Luz quickly interrupted her.

“Hang on, Amity! Don’t pull your hand away.”

“Uh…” Though this were a dream come true for the witch, she couldn’t help but wonder why exactly the two of them were holding hands. Then it dawned on her. They must have still been linked from when they grabbed the gem, watch thing. Of course! 

“If you do, you’ll go back to being frozen.” Luz stated in a serious tone. 

_ Okay _ . Amity thought to herself.  _ There goes that hypothesis. _ “What do you mean, I’ll go back to being  _ frozen _ ?” She asked.

“Well, when we grabbed the watch we were teleported back to Bonesborough, but everything, including all the witches and demons, were frozen in place. Just like you were. And I don’t know how it’s doing it, but this watch is allowing us to move when nobody else can.” She moved her wrist to insinuate what was between their palms.

“So…  _ Nobody _ , not anyone or anything, can move except for us? And we have to be touching this thing or we go back to being frozen?”

“Seems like it!” Luz smiled. Though that was quickly replaced by a frown at the realization that nobody they know can help them. And that they have no way of figuring out how to undo all of this.

“I think you and I just had the same thought.” Amity said a bit downtrodden. She squeezed Luz’s hand and gave her a soft smile. “But now that both of us can move, maybe we can figure a way out of this time prison?” She asked hopefully.

Luz wasn’t without her wits; she knew that they would have to find a way out of this mess. But, there was this inkling in the back of her mind. A mischievous thought which managed to manifest itself within seconds and was now at the forefront of her brain. It was something she had always envisioned, but just like becoming a witch, it wasn’t feasible until this very moment. 

“Oh, we will. But first there’s something I’ve always dreamt of doing.” An unlawfully large smile crept onto Luz’s face, which seemed to take Amity by surprise. Maybe Eda was rubbing off a little too much on the young teen. 

“...And what’s that?” Amity asked hesitantly.

“Well, back on Earth, there were a bunch of movies and books where this happened and nobody was ever able to realistically do.”

“Uh huh…”  _ This can’t be good. _ Amity thought.

“So when we move things when everything is all frozen, nothing moves from where we leave it. At least, you didn’t move from the last place I physically moved you.”

“Wait. You moved me?”

“Oh yeah! Moved you all around. Well, not  _ all around _ , but just a little to try and jostle you awake.”

_ She jostled me? _ Amity’s face began to light up at the thought she probably shouldn’t be having.

“But anyway,” Luz continued, “there was this thing where the creators would make time stop around the main character. The characters could still move and interact with stuff, but nothing would really  _ happen _ to whatever they interacted with. That is, until the time stop wore off and everything they moved around started going again. It was like,  _ utter chaos _ after everything went back to normal.” She tapped the top of her shoe on the ground, a little nervous for what she was about to ask. She only realized her nervousness now though, hoping that the girl in front of her wouldn’t think any less of her for what she was thinking, and even more hopefully wishing that she would join in herself. 

“Okay…” Amity got the feeling she knew where this was going, and honestly, if it was what she was thinking, she might even be up for it.

“Right! So, my question to you is: Amity Blight, will you cause frozen time chaos with me?” 

There it was. How in the world could she possibly say no to a bright eyed, ecstatically smiling, arms out welcoming invitation to cause quality pranks? Even if she had been by herself in this instance, there’s a reason Ed and Em were always pulling pranks. There had to be some quality enjoyment from it, so why shouldn’t she give it a try? Besides, it’s not every day you get to pull seemingly impossible pranks with your major crush. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity. And with that, she had made up her mind. 

Amity smiled and grasped Luz’s free hand. “Luz, there’s nothing I would like more than to wreak time insensitive havoc with you across Bonesborough.”

Luz’s heart skipped a beat hearing that acceptance. She was concerned that Amity’s more studious side may have stopped her from going with this, but there was also a small part of her that knew she wanted to do something like this with her. Well, hopefully this  _ and  _ something with her. Not just the wanting to go out and mess with people part, but the  _ her  _ part. Her feelings were all culminating at a rate she could barely keep pace with. If this got any worse, she didn’t know if she could hold herself together. 

But luckily, she had another exciting, and now mischievous, adventure to distract herself with. This was going to be fun. 

“Then what are we waiting for?” Luz asked excitedly. “I know the perfect place to start!”

“Woah!” Amity exclaimed as she was pulled away. “Where are we going?” She asked. 

“We’re off to see if Eda came back from her adventure today.”

“She went looking for this thing too?” Amity squeezed her hand which was partly cupping the watch. 

“Nope. She went to steal stuff from Tibbles.”

“Who’s Tibbles?”

“Oh yeah. Guess you weren’t there for that whole thing. He’s just a short pig demon who hates Eda’s guts for beating him.”

“Ah. Okay.” Amity had seen a small pig demon around the market, but had never really paid much attention to him. And hearing how he and Eda despised one another, she was kind of glad she had never bothered to purchase anything from him. 

“Alright! Then let’s go!” Luz cried out as she dragged her companion towards the Owl House. 

Their trip was relatively short considering they did not have to dodge and weave through the usual crowd of the market. In fact, unlike what they had perceived, no time on the Boiling Isles had passed at all. 

When they had arrived they found the front door wide open and Hooty’s neck was stretched inside. Luz had begun giggling at the sight knowing full well that no matter what time it currently was for the residents of Bonesborough, Hooty had been in there the entire day, likely never leaving Lilith’s side. 

“What’s so funny?” Amity asked, stifling a small secondhand giggle. 

“Oh, you’ll see.” Luz had a mischievous smile on, which had certainly peaked the young witch’s curiosity. 

The two walked in through the front door together and sure enough they found Hooty right next to Lilith. She was stuck laying up on the couch with her nose buried deep into a book titled  _ Coping With Your Outer Demons _ . Hooty seemed as smiling as ever with his beak wide open and eyes as bright as stars. Luz moved the book down and Lilith seemed as though she were ready to have owl stew this evening. 

“Wow. She’s fuming.” Amity commented. 

“Well, and I say this with love, but if you spent a whole day with Hooty by your side I think you’d be feeling the same.” 

“Luz… You  _ do _ remember what happened on Grom, right?”

Amity had wanted to ask someone to Grom that night and Luz had no idea which lucky witch it was, but it was heartbreaking to her because she assumed if it was her, she would have been asked due to how close they were. She had been hoping to get a chance to go with Amity, but that offer never came. She was absolutely heartbroken after seeing that, but couldn’t put on a sad face because two feet from her was the witch she cared most for having her innermost fears realized. She needed to be strong. 

So Luz put on a smiling face and instead had offered to go with her instead, as a consolation date. At least in her mind it was a date. Amity had probably just thought of that as two friends going together. It was something, but not nearly good enough for Luz. Hopefully it could be something more the next time Grom rolled around. 

But regardless of how she had felt about the offhand acceptance, she still had the fight of her life. And it wasn’t because of the level of difficulty regarding the tag team battle. No. How the two twisted and turned as they effortlessly glided across the cliff side, easily casting spells in perfect synchronization to take down what was earlier proving to be a near impossible creature to beat, was nothing short of pure bliss. She would have that dance again. This, she swore. 

But that wasn’t what Amity was referring to. 

Instead, Amity was hinting at the second time Hooty had tried to talk to her, after she had specifically stated she would destroy the “bird tube” had it come near her again. Which, of course, he did. 

“You know,” Amity prompted, “when Hooty almost poked my eye out before Grom. And I had to poke his out to make sure he didn’t try anything like that again.”

Luz scrunched her face, trying to simultaneously recall what she was talking about and push down her bubbling feelings about the amazingly talented and beautiful witch beside her. “Uh… Oh! Oh yeah! I totally remember that! He was all like,  _ in your face _ . And you were all like  _ gah _ !” She threw up her fist, giving a more under exaggeration of the encounter. 

Amity covered her mouth with her hand and giggled, a bit of red shading her cheeks. There was no possible way on these Boiling Isles that she could  _ ever _ come close to disliking that dorkishly cute rambling she does. It had come to brighten even the darkest days she had at Hexside, and there was no way she could ever go without it. “Yeah…” She smiled. “I think I may actually owe him an apology for that one. Had some pent up aggression lumped in there that day.”

Luz’s cheery demeanor faltered. “Why? I mean, if you don’t mind me asking.”

Amity paused for a moment. She recalled a conversation she had with her mother earlier that day but did not want to drop its contents on Luz right now. It certainly wasn’t the time or place. “It’s- a bit of a long story. Maybe we could talk about it some other time?” She asked, hoping to not sound too off putting while still getting her point across. 

It seemed to have been received in that perfect context. “Sure.” Luz smiled. “I’d love to hear it whenever you’d feel like talking about it.”

Amity smiled in return and gave her a quick nod. She really was the whole package.

“Great. So!” Luz piped out, switching gears, “how about we start on our fun?”

Amity grabbed a black marker lying on the table and popped the lid off. “I couldn’t agree more.” She responded.

The two giggled to each other as Amity began drawing various shapes and symbols over Lilith. She may have gone a bit overboard by the end of it considering nearly none of Lilith’s actual skin was showing through all the now colorful, thanks to Luz finding an assortment of markers, designs filling her face. It wasn’t long after when they turned their attention to the House Owl floating next to them.

Hooty was left with his own version of the teen’s makeshift tattoos, including some flies, leaves, and the word “Hoot” written extensively down his tube neck.

“Oh!” Luz called out, capping her marker. “I have one more idea!” Without giving Amity a chance to respond, Luz was out the back door with a glass in hand and Amity in the other. They returned moments later, the glass topped off with some water from a nearby pond. Luz placed the glass above Lilith’s face and pulled the glass down, suspending the water in mid air. She smiled and gestured to her work. “What do you think?”

Amity hummed and slightly cocked her head. “These markers are waterproof, right?”

“Yup. I’d never let my artwork get destroyed by something as simple as water.”

“Then it’s perfect.” The green haired witch smiled back at her. “So… You have any idea on where to go next?”

“Well, I have a few places in mind. I’d like to find Eda, Willow and Gus before we try to get out of this, but do you have something in mind?”

“I have someone- well, more like  _ a couple _ witches in mind, but not really what to do to them once we get there.” Amity rubbed her arm, feeling a slight bit uneasy about her choices, but if anyone was going to support her and give her an idea in the process, it was Luz. 

“Well, I’m sure the two of us can come up with something that’s equal parts fun and annoying! So, who are they?” Luz prodded, in both a linguistic and literal sense. 

Being poked in the side, Amity started to giggle. At first it was just sparse and playful; she was happy to laugh like this with Luz. But Luz was having a bit too much fun, caught up in the tantalizing sound of an angelic and bubbly fit Amity had fallen into. 

The witch’s cheeks began to burn red, it was getting harder for her to move, and she was developing a serious side stitch. “Luz! Lu-“ She began an all out cackle and before long she was beginning to run short of breath. “I can- I can’t b- breathe!” In a last ditch effort, she gathered all her strength and whacked Luz’s arm away from her side, still managing to keep hold of her other hand and the watch, of course. 

Amity’s heavy heaving had really come to show just how much strain she was under then. In fact, there were even a few droplets of sweat forming above her eyebrows as she was holding herself on her knees, hunched over to catch her breath. Finally she glared up at the girl in front of her, doing her best to put on a convincingly terrifying face, which seemed to work as Luz’s breath hitched. 

“Heh. So…” Luz let the word hang there a moment as she tapped the tip of her shoe on the carpet. “Who, uh- who did you have in mind?” Her fake smile could be spotted a mile away, but the red in her cheeks took more of a keen eye to see. 

“Well-“ Amity stated, rising up, authoritatively looming over Luz, who now looked like she wanted to disappear inside of herself. “I think I just found someone else to add to my list.”

Before she had a chance to react, Amity tackled Luz to the ground and started attacking her sides relentlessly. Luz’s screams of desperation to stop went unheard as the onslaught of jabs to the side and under her arms continued. And even though it was difficult to see before, the red on Luz’s cheeks was now abundantly clear. Her screams were only interrupted by begs to stop and gasps for air. But there was no mercy when fighting a Blight, and boy was that something Luz had to learn the hard way. 

“Amity! Amit- _ ah! _ Ah, come on!” Plea after plea went ignored until Luz finally started to cough. She rolled onto her side and Amity stopped as she continued to cough through her gasps for air. Finally Luz rolled onto her back, breathing deeply and rapidly. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a loud moan. “I hope you’re happy with yourself, Blight. I could’ve  _ died _ back there.”

Amity, also exhausted from receiving Luz’s attack and attacking her back, decided to fall down and plop her head right under her sternum. “Yeah. But you didn’t. Count yourself lucky that I like you.” She smiled, glancing up at a pair of stunning amber eyes which looked right back at her. She moved one hand and wrapped it around her own stomach while simultaneously placing the other atop Luz’s. 

Luz’s eyes widened at the small gesture, at first because she thought there would be another attack, but then because she had realized what position they were both in. Her crush and herself had just had a tickle fight, and now they were laying on the floor together, her head was on her chest,  _ and  _ they were still holding hands. That last one may be for more practical purposes, but that didn’t stop her from reading too much into it. 

“Sooo-“ Luz started, without having any intention of finishing. She just felt like she had to say something, otherwise this magical moment could be ruined, and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. 

“So?” Amity replied, oddly smug. Usually being around Luz would turn her into a blushing, flustered mess, incapable of doing anything more than swift movements directed at avoiding her. But for some reason she had gained a surge of confidence. A warm and powerful feeling which radiated throughout her chest, pushing her beyond the limits she had previously known as insurmountable. 

Her hands felt like they were clamming up; they were trembling, which she silenced by pressing them hard against Luz, and her mouth felt as though it were shriveling up from dehydration. The metaphysical pushing sense in her chest was also being countered by the copious knots forming and growing in the pit of her stomach.

Did she want to do this? 

Those perfectly plump lips showed no sign of fleeing, and the girl they resided on didn’t seem like she wanted to leave, but she did seem a bit more on edge than usual. Amity’s heartbeat raced, every beat was like a whaling timpani resonating throughout her whole being. She could barely hear her own breaths over the thunder of her heart.

She wanted this. Titan, she’s wanted this for what felt like forever. And she wanted- no. She  _ needed _ to know that Luz felt the same. That at least she was open to the idea of them together. She needed an answer before she was torn apart from the inside out. 

“Luz..?” She hesitantly asked, barely able to hear her own voice. 

But what Amity could barely hear, Luz couldn’t hear at all. She was short circuiting and completely lacked the ability to fix it herself. Amity had this amazing and confident aura about her when she asked her “so?,” and maybe it was just their proximity or how she was laying atop her, but this was a whole new level of infatuation.

It wasn’t too long ago that she had actually figured out she had feelings for Amity. Sure, she felt warm and fuzzy inside when she was around certain people before, like when she had first met Emira and Edric, but this was different. This wasn’t just some fleeting fuzzy feeling that disappeared after they left. This type of feeling stuck around like a bad habit. She had caught herself thinking about the radiant green haired witch multiple times when they hadn’t even talked for days on end. And after Luz had consciously noticed this, it was as though Amity then became a permanent resident of the Luz Noceda mindscape. 

Her thoughts had developed around Amity, and slowly but surely she became the center of attention for every spark, every synapse, within Luz’s mind. Thoughts would wander from the green grass she so missed on Earth to the green locks of hair which bounced atop Amity’s head as she walked. The golden tooth Luz was greeted with every day as soon as she saw Eda would remind her of the amber irises within the dreamiest eyes of Hexside’s top student. Even the mud which Hooty so thoroughly enjoyed rolling around in would lead her to back to the rising brown star cresting Amity’s forehead. 

It was becoming an obsession which showed no evidence of slowing down. She could feel her cute pointed ear through the fabric of her shirt, the weight of her head resting on top of her, and the cold clammy hand which was intertwined with her own.

Even that seemed adorable. And with that she knew she needed to do something. 

But there was still that feeling of dread in the back of her mind. The thought that if she messed this up, there would be no coming back. After all, while Amity certainly thought of her as a friend, she didn’t know if that was going to change for the worse if she were to overstep her boundaries. 

She had the entire future of their relationship hanging in the balance, and it all fell on what she decided to do next. The slightest misstep could cause a rippling effect that she could never come back from; one that she would regret for the rest of her life. 

She had to be tactful, witty, and above all, herself. Because at the end of the day, she wanted Amity to fall for her, not some persona tailored to her interests. 

Now was her time to shine. To show the  _ real  _ Luz Noceda. 

“Luz?” Amity asked once again, bringing the girl in question out of her own mind. 

“ _ Amy?! _ ” Luz called out quickly, as though she couldn’t get the word out fast enough. It was the second it came out she realized the mistake she had made, and her face completely flushed because of it. “Amity! Not Amy! I meant Amity!” She desperately tried to backtrack and retract her failed addressing of the girl atop her. 

_ Oh no _ . Luz’s mind began to race.  _ I called her by the wrong name! I was so caught up in my own thoughts about her that I completely botched her name! Now she’s gonna think that I was subconsciously calling her Amy because I like another girl named Amy! I don’t even know an Amy! This is bad. This is sooo bad! _

The two of them stayed there, neither daring to move a muscle. Luz was like a deer in headlights, and the car of heartbreak was barreling straight at her. She couldn’t move. Nothing was working. And the only option she had remaining was to buckle down and hope for anything but the worst. 

And then it happened. 

Amity snorted.

_ She snorted? Like as in she thinks it was funny? _ Luz was dumbfounded. She had a thousand different scenarios for how this would have played out, but laughter, genuine laughter, was certainly not one of them. She had to have heard that wrong, right?

Just then a burst of soft, bubbly giggles began to fill the silence. They grew louder and louder until the green haired witch was full on laughing. She had  _ actually _ found that screw up funny! Absolutely unbelievable. Unthinkable. Inconceivable! She didn’t blow this! Well, not yet at least. They weren’t done yet, she supposed. 

“You’re- you’re not upset?” Luz hesitantly asked, the hitch in her voice ever so present. 

Amity calmed herself, with the only remnants of her laughs being a huge smile on her face. “Of course not, Luz. Why would I be upset?”

Luz still couldn’t believe what she was hearing, or seeing, for that matter. “Well, I mean- I just accidentally messed up your name when we were having a moment. I thought you might be upset…” She said quietly. 

Amity began rubbing her thumb against Luz’s knuckles. “Of course not. You looked a little flustered and a bit preoccupied with your own thoughts, so I’m not taking it personally. Plus, I kinda figured you were going for Ammy, or something…” She tucked some stray green hairs behind her ear. 

_ Woah. Not only is she a great witch,  _ Luz thought to herself,  _ but she’s also a psychic too. _ “That’s actually- exactly what I was going to say. How’d you know?” She asked. 

“Well, you could call it a hunch.” She replied coyly. In fact, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Amity to daydream about pet names for Luz, had she ever get the chance to go out with her. And conversely she would also imagine the nicknames that Luz might give her as well. One of her favorites being Ammy; which is why she found it so funny that Luz would actually go and call her by that when they’re still just friends. 

Luz’s cheeks burned red. Boy, she felt like she was in over her head with this one. But Amity was happy, so why not try to continue with that? “Well,  _ I  _ have a hunch that you like that nickname, Ammy.” Luz threw her free hand behind her head and cocked what she thought to be one of the slickest smiles in existence, but was more like a gummy mess. 

Amity couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “You are  _ such _ a dork.”

“But I’m  _ your _ dork.” Luz answered, sitting up with Amity following suit. And soon both teens found themselves laughing, feeling nothing but the bliss of each other’s company.

It was one of the only times during her entire life that Amity could remember where she felt nothing but happiness. There was no time halting spell, no looming urgency to get things back to normal, and especially no parents to ruin the one thing keeping you attached to this wretched isle. If she could have one wish, it would be that this moment could last forever. Which, in theory at this point in time, may just be feasible. 

But just as it tends to do so on a daily basis, the universe must always throw a curveball into the mix and disorient your state of mind. This came in the way of a fairly soft, yet calloused hand cupping her cheek. She froze. She couldn’t even move her eyes to look directly at the hand. But she knew it was Luz’s. They were currently trapped in some kind of time stopped world where the only things which could freely move without interaction from an outside source were herself and Luz. And she certainly wasn’t cupping her own cheek.

Her chest and cheeks grew warm, burning hotter than they had ever done so before. The butterflies in her stomach began whipping up once more, causing that nauseating but feverishly addictive feeling in her gut.  _ Why is she doing this?  _ Amity asked herself as she brought her free hand up to cover Luz’s.  _ She can’t be feeling the same way I am, right? There’s no way that she likes me back. Maybe there’s something on my cheek and she just figured the best way to get it would be to do it herself. But shouldn’t you at least tell your friends about stuff on their face before getting it yourself _ ?

Then, just when she thought her senses had maxed out, the thumb on her cheek began rubbing back and forth. Her breath hitched and her eyes darted to the only other set in the world which would look back at her. Those glistening chocolate brown eyes stared back at her own, unwavering. Amity took a long and serious look at her, noticing the speckles of green and varying hues of brown sprinkled throughout her irises which she had failed to see before. It was an array of wonder, for the most wonderful person alive. 

The young Blight’s stomach began to knot again, but this time it felt like they were egging her on. A sign from her own body to stop listening to the ridiculous warning signs her brain was giving her. Her body stiffened for a moment as Luz began to shift her hand. Was she moving because nothing significant was happening? Or was she only doing this as a comfort tool, and in typical Luz fashion it was just touchy because that’s the kind of person that she is?

_ Stop _ . Amity told herself.  _ If I don’t do something now, then I could be missing out on the best possible life I could have, with the only person that I’ve ever truly cared for. I can’t do this. I just can’t! _

A surge of boldness rushed throughout Amity’s body, first propelling the hand which was atop Luz’s. She placed it on her cheek, providing a few short strokes with her thumb. It was just as soft as she imagined it to be. Not that she ever did that… Really…

She didn’t move, or even flinch at the touch, and that was all Amity needed to boost her confidence. She took that same hand and moved it slightly back so that she was cupping the back of Luz’s head with her fingertips. And like a mirror, that is exactly where Luz’s hand landed on her. 

Her heart started racing; she could hear nothing but each individual pulse in her ears. She couldn’t tell but her skin started to feel clammy and moist, the exact opposite of how her desert of a mouth felt. Her stomach began to knot up even further, now feeling like an anxiety fueled stress ball. She was hoping not to be the only one feeling like this, because if she was, Luz was going to be in for a big surprise. 

In fact, Luz mirrored her almost perfectly. Clammy, moist skin, deafening heartbeats, knotted stomach; the whole nine yards. The only thing that differed was that Luz thought  _ she  _ was the one staring at the most beautiful witch in the whole world. This whole time she’s been on the Boiling Isles after meeting Amity, these feelings were starting to bubble up inside, slowly building pressure until this very moment. She couldn’t take it anymore; whether her feelings were reciprocated or not, she would make it out of this alive. And if by some heartbreaking reaction Amity wasn’t interested in her, there was still the chance they could remain friends, right? She was persistent enough to make that happen. 

With that final thought, Luz’s knotted stomach unwound; her nerves no longer seeming like a hindrance. She started to pull on the hand that was wrapped around Amity’s head, easing her in. She was surprised to feel the same tugging on the back of her head too, but that fleeting feeling only propelled her to tug more. 

They were close; inches away from the other. They could each feel the hot breath from the other on their faces, sending shivers down their spines. They each glanced into each other’s eyes one last time, if only to make sure that there was no objection to what they each implied. As they waited and stared for just a moment, they knew this was what they were both thinking. That deep down they both longed for the same thing: each other. 

No more delays, no more second guessing, no more mental roadblocks. They pulled each other in, tilting their heads just a bit. There was hesitancy at first; each so unsure about taking the first step seeing as there was no prior experience to guide them. But that was over in an instant as they closed their eyes and the minuscule gap between them as their lips finally met. 

It was almost instantaneously that Amity melted into Luz. She slouched down from the overload of emotions railing her brain. Those partially chapped lips were to die for, what with their warm comfort and the thought of the absolutely  _ stunning _ girl behind them. She knew she was completely red in the face by this point. In fact, you could probably fry an egg on her cheek with how hot it was. 

Amity straightened up and gripped the hair on the back of Luz’s head tighter, pulling her in even closer. This feeling of pure ecstasy was one she had never known before. All her life she was pushed to some obscure goal of greatness that she herself wasn’t even entirely sure she wanted. It wasn’t until she actually got an idea of who Luz was that she finally had a heart set goal. And Titan knows she never had felt this much emotion in achieving what she had her heart set on. And these heart stopping fireworks and breathtaking, soul fulfilling pleasure were all the indication she needed to say that no matter what she did, this amazing girl in front of her needed to be there every step of the way. 

Luz could not have felt any differently. Her crush on Amity wasn’t there for very long; a few months at the absolute most, and it was mainly overshadowed by the need to help Eda with her curse, but this was the most fulfilling feeling she has ever had in her short decade and a half of life. 

She fell into those plump, soft, and incredibly satisfying lips, and almost passed out from the rush. She stood tall because it seemed as though Amity was already falling herself as she slouched down just a little before correcting herself. The thumping in Luz’s chest, which she thought would diminish during the kiss, had only gotten stronger. Not only that, but it was much stronger than she thought possible. Her heart was simultaneously accelerating and melting to the point where she just had to try and ignore it before she passed out completely. 

Then out of nowhere Amity pulled her in tighter, pressing harder on her lips with her own, and in doing so, throwing gasoline on the bonfire within her chest. She had lost all track of relative time by this point and had no intention of stopping this wonderful, heated bliss. She could die happy at this point because in her mind there was nothing that would beat this high. 

But her body had other plans. It seemed as though she had gone far too long without breathing that the rush in her chest wasn’t all feelings of love towards Amity. Some of it was the lack of oxygen getting to her lungs. And with the sense of unconsciousness looming ever so closely, she had begrudgingly broke apart from the highlight of her life to desperately gasp for air. 

And it seemed as though she wasn’t the only one who forgot to breathe as well. Amity also seemed to be heaving, not that either one could actually hear the breaths of the other, or even themselves, over the relentless beating of their hearts in their ears. A few moments passed and both teens were able to finally calm themselves to the point where they were no longer gasping for air, and could actually hear what was going on around them. 

“That…” Amity managed to puff out, still not fully recovered, “that was…”

“Amazing? Incredible? Easily the most iconic point of my entire  _ life _ ?” Luz managed to respond before Amity could get her words out. 

“I- I really don’t even know what I was going to say.” Amity chuckled, brushing her disheveled hair back into place with a few graceful strokes. 

Luz propped herself on her forearm, sitting criss cross. “Honestly, I have no idea how I even came up with those words because the whole time we were-  _ kissing _ , man that felt good to say,” she smiled, eliciting a giggle from Amity as well, “the whole time we were kissing, I could barely remember who I was, let alone come up with words to describe it! And I know I’m still not doing it justice either! But I can’t put into better words how  _ amazing _ that was!”

She felt like she was on cloud 9; the world was at her fingertips and she finally had the girl she so deeply desired. Even though they had only known each other for less than a year, Luz felt a special bond with her that she just couldn’t explain. And that bond, while string like for all of her time on the Boiling Isles, had grown infinitely stronger in the past two minutes. She felt like she had a rope to hold onto Amity with, and she knew deep down that her rope was held tightly by that breathtaking green haired witch. 

“Well,” Amity said after taking a deep breath, “I think all of those descriptors fit perfectly.” She said with a smile. 

Luz’s heart fluttered; she really did take her breath away. In more ways than one. “Sooo…” She drug out. “Now what?”

“Well…” Amity tapped her finger to her chin. “We can either finish up what we were doing here by going to my place, then figuring out a way to get time going again.  _ Or _ , we could blow that off and just make out some more.” Her cheeks lit up like hot iron. “Up to you…”

Luz smiled and snickered. “You really don’t make choices easy, do you, Am?”

She only shrugged in response, a sly smile sitting pretty on her face. 

Though she played it off very nicely, it really was a difficult decision for Luz. They were still trapped in this place beyond time with no knowledge on how to get out, so what they should be focusing on is how to replant themselves in their proper intersection of space and time. Otherwise they may never see their loved ones again. 

On the other hand, she was a human teenager and a hot girl wanted to make out with her. Tough choices here. 

Luz sighed, ultimately knowing her growth as a person here on the Isles has led her to hold her responsibilities which included the health and safety of others above her own personal wants and desires. Hormones would have to take a backseat. 

Luz clasped their intertwined hands with her free one. “As much as I don’t want to choose this, and trust me, I  _ really _ don’t want to choose this, we should get going. Who knows how long it’ll take us to find info on how this stupid watch thing works so that we can get back to our friends and families. Assuming that’s even an option…”

While she was upset at the choice being confirmed, Amity knew it was the right thing to do. Loving beyond time with Luz would be a once in a lifetime opportunity, but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun or interesting back where everything happens on the Isles. “Unfortunately I agree. But if we happen to find a nice bench or patch of grass along the way…” She smirked. 

“Then I guess we’ll just have to stop and admire the view!” Luz happily finished the sentence, much to Amity’s visible dismay. A few short moments passed before she spoke up again. “Just like we are now.” She winked. 

“Ugh.” Amity pushed her shoulder. “Don’t get all sappy on me, Noceda.”

But Luz could see through the tough girl act to the blossoming flowers of joy underneath. Apparently being overly mushy brought out the tough girl; something she would have to keep in the back of her mind. But for now, it was time to get a move on. While they technically had all day, it was better to go now before they changed their minds and ended up never leaving at all. 

Luz pushed herself to her feet and pulled Amity up alongside her. “You ready to go?” She asked. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Amity replied. They strode out, hand in hand, with their newfound relationship giving them the emotional boost to enjoy themselves just a bit more before getting down to business and finding a way out of this beautiful nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional thanks to my girlfriend who edited this chapter so it didn't come out weeks from now! See you all for the next and final installment, and Happy Valentine's Day!
> 
> -G


End file.
